BENGALURU: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is facing significant challenges in collecting property taxes from some of the city’s most prestigious institutions, hotels, developers, educational institutions, charitable trusts, and malls.
As of May 18, nearly 3.63 lakh properties owe Rs 711.1 crore in taxes. Bommanahalli tops the list with 57,043 properties owing Rs 95 crore, followed by Rajarajeshwari Nagar with 55,073 properties owing Rs 54.31 crore. Additionally, 1,66,557 properties are supposed to pay a difference amount of Rs 231.77 crore.
“We are sending daily SMS messages and making IVR-based calls to these defaulters and revision cases. But they are not paying their tax arrears. We will start special enforcement for recovery as per law soon,” said Munish Moudgil, special commissioner BBMP (revenue), told TOI.
This is not the first time BBMP has made such a list public, yet many of these defaulters continue to evade tax payments. Property tax is a crucial revenue source for the BBMP, and some properties have had tax arrears for decades, posing a persistent challenge for the revenue department.
The BBMP relies heavily on property tax collections to fund essential civic services, infrastructure projects, and urban development initiatives. However, the reluctance of high-profile defaulters to clear their dues is undermining these efforts.
Many of the defaulters on the BBMP’s list have consistently ignored multiple notices over the years. Despite efforts by BBMP officials to enforce compliance, including issuing notices, sealing properties, confiscating inheritances and immovable property, and even seizing bank accounts, many property owners remain indifferent to their tax obligations.
Zone wise details of property tax defaulters (source: BBMP)
The bureaucratic process involved in these enforcement actions can be slow and cumbersome, further complicating the BBMP’s efforts to recover dues. “Whenever we send notices to the defaulters, they bring a stay from the courts, forcing us to tie our hands. What is the point of having a revenue cell that cannot function optimally due to the stays?” said Moudgil. “Thus, we have introduced the OTS, a time settlement scheme, hoping many might pay up,” he added.
“The scheme offers a 5% discount on payments made within an extended period. However, compliance remains disappointingly low, with many property owners unwilling to settle their dues even with this incentive,” Moudgil noted.
Repeated notices have been issued to delinquent property owners with unpaid taxes. For those who continue to ignore these notices, Form 13 has been issued, initiating the process of recording BBMP’s claim in the records of the Deputy Registrar’s office.
This legal step is intended to create a lien on the property, making it difficult for owners to sell or transfer their properties without clearing the outstanding taxes.
“We have publicly released the list of top defaulters to increase transparency and accountability. By naming and shaming the defaulters, the BBMP hopes to pressure them into paying their dues. However, this approach has had limited success in the past, and it remains to be seen whether it will be more effective this time around,” Moudgil added.
